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During 1978 there was an incident between Chuck Crawford and his wife Dorothy. For legal reasons Chuck gave his version in a tape recorded statement. According to him the incident resulted from Dorothy writing bad checks. She had written numerous bad checks at different places around town. When Chuck found out he sold a gun and used some of the money to cover a bad check. The same evening his wife wrote another bad check at the restaurant where they had dinner. Chuck and Dorothy got into a dispute about the bad checks at the restaurant and again at home. Dorothy hit Chuck with things like plates, cups, and ash trays; some of them striking Chuck in the head. Chuck slapped Dorothy around. Who started it depends on which one of them your asking. Dorothy’s young daughter called the Sheriff’s Department from a neighbor’s home. When Deputies arrived, Chuck and Dorothy were struggling over a gun. After speaking to Chuck and then Dorothy, the Deputies arrested Chuck and took him to jail, where he remained from December 15, 1978 until January 4, 1979
The following is a June 25, 1979 letter from Dr. Moczynski to Chuck's lawyer Mr. Susman about injuries Chuck received at the hands of the jailers while Chuck was incarcerated, and about Chuck selling jewelry.
Attention: Alan H. Susman
RE: CRAWFORD , Charles M.
Dear Mr. Susman:
I first saw Mr. Crawford in my office on February 26, 1979, At that tine, he presented with a history of having sustained an injury to his thoracolumbar spine on December 19, 1978. At that time, he was an inmate at the Pinal County Jail and was experiencing difficulties with black-outs as a result of being hit on the side of the head. He stated that he apparently blacked out and was being carried from the jail on a stretcher and was apparently dropped several times from the stretcher. He was then placed in the back of a car and taken to the Pinal County Hospital. He had complaints both of back pain and blacking-out at that time. The patient did state that he had a previous history of back trouble in 1967., with a history of whiplash and pain in the low back and the thoracolumbar spine area. He also has had head aches and pain in that area since that injury.
His symptoms on February 26, 1979, were those of a constant pain, of a dull aching nature in the lower thoracic and upper lumbar spine area. He also complained of an occasional shooting pain, which was quite sharp, with radiation up the spine to the neck and into the head. He had difficulty sleeping and found no comfortable position in which to sleep. He stated that he was taking Tylenol for his discomfort with some relief. He also stated that he was a gold mine operator, and he had been unable to work in his gold mine because of the pain and was now selling jewelry. He stated that his pain would radiate to the right hip occasi0llally, but never any further than the right hip. He stated that prolonged sitting and standing did increase his pain, as did bending and lifting. He had no complaints, however, of numbness or weakness of the lower extremities. He noted no increase of his discomfort with coughing and sneezing, and his symptoms were not relieved by rest. He complained of only being able to sleep a few hours per night. He had no symptoms of bowel or bladder problems, but did give a history of an ulcer that was apparently aggravated during his recent discomfort.On physical examination, he walked without an apparent list or a limp, and could heel and toe walk without difficulty. He could attain a squat position without any apparent discomfort. On range of motion of the lumbar spine, he could touch his fingertips to the level of the tibial tubercle with flexion. He had good lateral flexion and good lateral rotation and extension. Straight leg raising was to 90-degrees in a sitting position bilaterally, but was limited to 70-degrees bilaterally in the supine position. There was no sensory or motor deficit noted in the lower extremities, and the deep tendon reflexes were bilaterally symmetrical at the knees, the ankles, and the posterior tibials.
X-ray examination revealed a mild scoliosis of the thoracic spine with no apparent evidence of fracture, dislocation or any other anatomic abnormalities.
It was my feeling at that tine that the patient was having symptoms of a thoracolumbar strain, but at that time had no evidence of adiculopathy and no evidence of any bony pathology, and that he would respond to conservative care, consisting of exercises and muscle relaxants.
He failed to keep his next appointment on March 21, 1979.
The following is a June 25, 1979 letter from Dr. Moczynski to Chuck's lawyer Mr. Susman about injuries Chuck received at the hands of the jailers while Chuck was incarcerated, and about Chuck selling jewelry.
Attention: Alan H. Susman
RE: CRAWFORD , Charles M.
Dear Mr. Susman:
I first saw Mr. Crawford in my office on February 26, 1979, At that tine, he presented with a history of having sustained an injury to his thoracolumbar spine on December 19, 1978. At that time, he was an inmate at the Pinal County Jail and was experiencing difficulties with black-outs as a result of being hit on the side of the head. He stated that he apparently blacked out and was being carried from the jail on a stretcher and was apparently dropped several times from the stretcher. He was then placed in the back of a car and taken to the Pinal County Hospital. He had complaints both of back pain and blacking-out at that time. The patient did state that he had a previous history of back trouble in 1967., with a history of whiplash and pain in the low back and the thoracolumbar spine area. He also has had head aches and pain in that area since that injury.
His symptoms on February 26, 1979, were those of a constant pain, of a dull aching nature in the lower thoracic and upper lumbar spine area. He also complained of an occasional shooting pain, which was quite sharp, with radiation up the spine to the neck and into the head. He had difficulty sleeping and found no comfortable position in which to sleep. He stated that he was taking Tylenol for his discomfort with some relief. He also stated that he was a gold mine operator, and he had been unable to work in his gold mine because of the pain and was now selling jewelry. He stated that his pain would radiate to the right hip occasi0llally, but never any further than the right hip. He stated that prolonged sitting and standing did increase his pain, as did bending and lifting. He had no complaints, however, of numbness or weakness of the lower extremities. He noted no increase of his discomfort with coughing and sneezing, and his symptoms were not relieved by rest. He complained of only being able to sleep a few hours per night. He had no symptoms of bowel or bladder problems, but did give a history of an ulcer that was apparently aggravated during his recent discomfort.On physical examination, he walked without an apparent list or a limp, and could heel and toe walk without difficulty. He could attain a squat position without any apparent discomfort. On range of motion of the lumbar spine, he could touch his fingertips to the level of the tibial tubercle with flexion. He had good lateral flexion and good lateral rotation and extension. Straight leg raising was to 90-degrees in a sitting position bilaterally, but was limited to 70-degrees bilaterally in the supine position. There was no sensory or motor deficit noted in the lower extremities, and the deep tendon reflexes were bilaterally symmetrical at the knees, the ankles, and the posterior tibials.
X-ray examination revealed a mild scoliosis of the thoracic spine with no apparent evidence of fracture, dislocation or any other anatomic abnormalities.
It was my feeling at that tine that the patient was having symptoms of a thoracolumbar strain, but at that time had no evidence of adiculopathy and no evidence of any bony pathology, and that he would respond to conservative care, consisting of exercises and muscle relaxants.
He failed to keep his next appointment on March 21, 1979.
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